Jimmy Carter among Nobel Prize winners urging Keystone rejection

Jimmy Carter has become first former US president to speak out against the controversial Keystone XL project, which would see tar sands oil flow from Canada to the US.

Carter joined a group of nine other Nobel Prize winners who
signed a letter to President Obama, urging him not to endorse the
plan.

“You stand on the brink of making a choice that will define
your legacy on one of the greatest challenges humanity has ever
faced - climate change,” the letter reads.

The Nobel laureates argue that “the tar sands are among the
world’s most polluting oil” and say that they have the
support of 2 million people “who submitted their comments in
the national interest determination process rejecting the
pipeline."

The letter describes the Keystone XL decision as one of the most
crucial for the Obama administration and one that will go down in
history.

“A rejection would signal a new course for the world’s
largest economy,” the appeal to the US President reads.
“You know as well as we do the powerful precedent that this
would set. This leadership by example would usher in a new era
where climate change and pollution is given the urgent attention
and focus it deserves in a world where the climate crisis is
already a daily struggle for so many.”

The letter sparked immediate reaction from the Canadian
government, who are campaigning for the approval of the project.
The statement by the Prime Minister’s office reiterated the
economic benefits Keystone entails.

"Our government’s position on the Keystone XL project is
clear: the project will create tens of thousands of jobs for
workers on both sides of the border, which will create tremendous
economic benefits for both countries," the statement said.

It also recalled Carter’s own experience as president, when the
Iranian revolution crippled supplies from the Middle East and oil
prices soared in the US.

"In addition, Mr. Carter knows from his time as president
during the 1979 energy crisis, there are benefits to having
access to oil from stable, secure partners like Canada”.

By having signed the anti-Keystone letter, Carter has become the
first ex-president to urge the rejection of the project.

Previously, George W. Bush described the plan for the pipeline as
a “no-brainer.”

“The clear goal ought to be how to get the private sector to
grow,” Bush said in March 2012 as cited by Bloomberg.
“If you say that, then an issue like the Keystone pipeline
becomes an easy issue.”

Bill Clinton objected to the pipeline going through Nebraska's
Sandhills region, but said at a 2012 summit of the Advanced
Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) that if the route was
changed “we should embrace” the project.

Keystone XL is a $7 billion oil pipeline designed to carry tar
sands oil from Alberta's oil sands in Canada to refineries on the
US Gulf Coast. Up to 800,000 barrels of crude oil a day are
expected to move along the pipeline.

The project has raised much controversy in the US, with
environmentalists staging regular protests citing the potential
negative environmental impact.

A decision on Keystone is expected to be made before the summer.

A survey, released by the US State Department
in January, raised few objections regarding the environmental
impact of the project, paving the way for its potential approval.

Alternative reports speak of high risks. A study by the University of
Toronto-Scarborough, published in February, warned that tar sands
oil production was associated with much greater emissions of
harmful carcinogens than previously thought.